The Phone Interview….. Don’t Blow It Off!

About 75% of the time the Job Interview process begins with a phone interview.  This is the opportunity to make your first impression with your new potential employer.  Yet, not only do many job seekers put very preparation into this essential step in the interview process – they do not take this step seriously.   Job seekers need to understand that this step in the interview process is meant to weed people out.  The interviewer is looking for reasons to not move you forward in the process.  You as the job seeker have to provide them reasons why they need to move you forward to a face to face interview.

Your goal for the phone interview is to be moved forward to the 2nd step in the interview process which is normally a face to face interview with a General Manager or District Manager.  This is when you will be able to meet with an operator and talk in more detail about your restaurant management operations experience

Homework

Most of the time the initial phone interview will be with the member of the Human Resources team, either a Human Resources Manager of a Management Recruiter.   It is essential that you have done research on the company that you are interviewing with.   The basic first step is to go directly to the company’s website and spend a minimum of 15 minutes perusing all of the pages of the website.  There is a ton of pertinent information that you can pull from a company’s website.   Restaurant companies website’s are designed as marketing collateral for their brand.  They will most times show what and where future growth will be, what the company’s mission statement is,  what their core values are.  You will be able to pull a lot of information from these pages, and even gather some buzz words that you can incorporate into your initial phone interview.

Taking it one step further, it is mandatory that you visit a location and dine with the company that you are interviewing with prior to an initial phone interview.  You need to have a recent, firsthand dining experience with the company so you have an informed base of knowledge from which to refer to during this interview.  This simple step will show the potential employer that you are serious about wanting to work for this company, and it will set you apart from most of the other candidates interviewing for this position.

Phone Interview DO’s and DON’Ts

Below is a list of phone interview do’s and don’ts.  Many may seem like basic common sense, but trust me when I tell you that I pull these from real life experience that clients have told me about candidates.

• Be sure to schedule the Job Interview time when you will be at your best.  If you are doing a closing shift, and getting home from work at 3AM – DO NOT set an interview for 8AM the following morning.
• DO NOT set a phone interview time while you are at work – thinking that you will have time to step outside for the phone interview.  DO set it on a day off.
• DO NOT set a phone interview time when you know you will be driving, or shopping, or in a public place with lots of background noise
• DO answer the phone at the designated interview time.  DO NOT be talking to someone on the other line, run to the bathroom, or tell the interviewer that you will “call them right back”
• DO remain positive about your previous employers.  No matter how bad it was, potential employers do not want to hear negatives about your previous employers.  They will pass on you every time if you are negative.